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STATE OF THE K STREET: SMALLER FIRMS GROWING VERY FAST: PI and the other media outlets who cover lobbying are sometimes guilty of covering the quarterly revenues of the big firms like Patton Boggs and Akin Gump while ignoring the boutiques and medium-sized firms that are increasingly a big part of the K Street ecosystem. So today, we bring you an analysis of the boutiques and medium-sized firms.

PI looked at a snapshot of the Lobbying Disclosure Act revenue numbers for 13 important firms outside the top 20: Heather Podesta & Partners, Clark Geduldig Cranford & Nielsen, Crossroads Strategies, Thorn Run, Franklin Square Group, Liberty Partners Group, Shockey Scofield Solutions, Thorsen French Advocacy, Republic Consulting, TwinLogic, Daly Consulting Group, Majority Group and Monument Policy Group. Of those 13, most were experiencing rapid and sustained double-digit growth between the first quarter of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014.

Podesta, Thorsen French and Franklin Square were roughly on pace with where they were at this time last year. Meanwhile, Clark Geduldig, Crossroads Strategies, Thorn Run, Shockey Scofield, Republic Consulting, TwinLogic, Daly Consulting Group and Majority Group were all up in double digits. Monument Policy Group was just barely shy of 10 percent growth. Majority Group, Crossroads Strategies and Daly Consulting Group were all up significantly — with 44 percent, 35 percent and 33 percent growth, respectively. PI also looked at estimated 2014 revenue per registered lobbyist and things look rosy for Heather Podesta, Thorsen French and Daly Consulting. If all three keep pace with quarter one of 2014, they’ll clear over $1 million in revenue per registered lobbyist. Other firms are doing very well on this measure.

Here’s our dataset and a brief note on methodology, complete with very rough 2014 revenue projection based sorely on the first quarter numbers: http://bit.ly/1ptlggM

Think we should include your firm next time? Shoot us a note. Our contact info is below.

PI’S TAKEAWAY: Lobbyists at the big firms dismiss their smaller competitors at their peril. These firms have low overhead and are very nimble. Between them, they represent a huge number of Fortune 500 companies and major trade associations or coalitions. They bring in lots of revenue per lobbyist. And they’re signing new business and stealing away existing business at a very fast clip at a time when growth is flat or nonexistent at the biggest firms. There are certainly still big advantages to being attached to a law firm or a public affairs shop. But the numbers don’t lie: Many of the smaller shops are healthy, growing and efficient operations that are bucking the overall lobbying trends.

GOOD THURSDAY AFTERNOON, where it’s been 9 years since the world’s first cloned dog was born. Snuppy, an Afghan hound, was born on April 24, 2005 in South Korea. As far as PI can tell, Snuppy is still alive and well. Send your lobbying news, gossip, tips and scoops to btau@politico.com. And keep up with PI on Twitter by following @ByronTau or @PoliticoPI.

TIBBITS HIRED BY QUALCOMM:Nate Tibbits has joined Qualcomm as senior vice president of government affairs. In his new role, he’ll also head the company’s Washington office. He comes to Qualcomm after stints at Burson-Marsteller and running his own consulting firm, Blackwood Advisory. He’s also an Obama administration alumni — having been appointed by President Obama as executive secretary of the National Security Council. He was also special assistant to the president for presidential personnel. Prior to his work at the White House, Nate was a founding member of the Center for a New American Security and worked at Discovery Communications, The Albright Group and the National Democratic Institute.

BIG PECAN COMES TO WASHINGTON: The National Pecan Growers Association has hired Robert Redding Jr. to work on trade, immigration reform and food safety issues. Redding has lobbied on behalf of the Georgia Pecan Growers Association for the past six years on similar issues. Hilton Segler, executive director of the national association, said the group’s top priority is lower international tariffs on pecans, especially to India. “They love nuts,” Segler said, “but they’ve got a tariff of about 36 percent on pecans.” His group also hopes to see more grant money in the next farm bill for specialty crop research. While the association isn’t taking an official position in immigration reform, Segler says the industry relies heavily on immigrant workers, and that there would be a “tremendous increase” in prices without them.

CHAMBER HOSTS COLLINS: The U.S. Chamber’s Global Intellectual Property Center held its second “IP Champions” conference to a packed house. The Wednesday event highlighted innovators and academics who rely on intellectual property rights and recognized the achievements of government IP enforcement agencies like the National IPR Center. Keynoting the event was Rep. Doug Collins, a freshman member from Georgia who has been vocal on IP issues. "We talk a lot in Congress about doing things for our children and grandchildren, Collins said. “Good IP policy is one of those things."

BEER WHOLESALERS ‘TOAST’ MEMBERS: The National Beer Wholesalers Association is welcoming its own association’s membership to D.C. with a special advertising campaign. In advance of the association’s 2014 legislative conference, NBWA has purchased ad space at Reagan National Airport. The ads depict beer trucks loaded with dozens of brands, from major domestic labels to new, small brands to imports from around the world. The NBWA Legislative Conference kicks off this weekend. A sample ad is here: http://twitpic.com/e1ym7q

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ZIRKELBACH BIDS FAREWELL TO AHIP: Robert Zirkelbach writes in a farewell note to his colleagues at America's Health Insurance Plans: “I have really enjoyed my time at AHIP, and I appreciate the many opportunities I have been given over the past seven and a half years. My colleagues at AHIP are some of the smartest and most talented people I have ever met and I will miss working with all of them.” He’s headed to PhRMA as a senior vice president of communications next month.

NRF LAUNCHES NEW CAMPAIGN: The National Retail Federation is expanding its This is Retail campaign with a national tour that will stop in California, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota and Washington State. NRF’s Retail Across America initiative will bring together state retail associations, legislators, opinion leaders and some of the nation’s top retail companies to challenge the misconceptions about careers in the industry and drive home the message that retail plays an integral role in our economy and technological innovation. The multi-state campaign kicked off today at an event in Charlotte, North Carolina, which featured NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay and North Carolina Retail Merchants Association President and General Counsel Andy Ellen.

ERVIN HILL AMENDS AWAY TERMINATION: Ervin| Hill Strategy has amended its termination with GOOD Technology, a firm representative tells PI. It is now simply a no activity report.

THE BANKING CAUCUS: “Every business sector has its friends in Washington. Financial companies — from the biggest megabanks to small payday lenders — have some of the best. Less than six years after a massive financial crisis drove the U.S. banking system to the edge of collapse, leading to a $700 billion government bailout and a recession that destroyed as much as $34 trillion in wealth, bankers and lawmakers are working in concert to undermine Dodd-Frank, an 849-page law designed to prevent another failure,” reports CPI. http://bit.ly/1nrHgH4

ELIZABETH WARREN HITS ‘ARMIES’ OF LOBBYISTS, LAWYERS: In other news, the sky is blue. http://bit.ly/1lJtECT

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